Welcome to the website of the South Liverpool Orchestra
Current Season: Autumn term – 17 September 2024 to 3 December 2024
Rehearsals: Tuesday evenings 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm.
Update 24 October 2024
Dear all,
Great to see so many of you at rehearsal on Tuesday. There are just five rehearsals left until our concert on 3rd December! If you haven’t put your name down already, please let Guy know if you are able to commit to the concert. This will help us when it comes to recruiting extra players to ensure we have as full an orchestra as possible on the night. If you know of any extra players able to support on the night (see below for details of what we are looking for), let Rob or Guy have their contact details so they can co-ordinate planning efforts.
The poster has circulated on the Whats App group and Guy will send the details round on email shortly. Aslan is in the process of getting posters printed and these will be available soon at future rehearsals. Please do all you can to help promote our concert so we have a good turn out as usual at All Hallows.
Rehearsals continue right upto the concert, the wonderful Abigail Birch-Price will be conducting next week while Rob takes a break over the half term. As usual, do let us know if you’re unable to make rehearsal as it helps with planning the session.
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee
Update 14 September 2024
Dear all,
It seems no time at all before the summer has disappeared and the nights are starting to draw in – this can only mean one thing – we’re nearly ready to return to the favourite night of the week – a Tuesday evening SLO rehearsal!
Two important dates for your diary – our Christmas concert is on Tuesday 3rd December 2024 and our Spring concert on Tuesday 20th May 2025, both at All Hallows Church as usual. We are very grateful for their continued support.
Please do spread the word that rehearsals start back on Tuesday, 17th September, at 7.30 pm. If anyone needs any help with transport, or indeed directions for getting to rehearsal if you’re new, please reach out via email or our Facebook page and we’ll see what we can do.
Looking forward to seeing both old and new members joining us on Tuesday where we will see what Alex and Paul (our fantastic librarians) have in store for us this term.
Call for extra players – as usual, please spread the word – any are welcome, but, in particular, we’re looking for all strings (especially Double Bass players), 1x Bassoon, 1x French Horn, 1x Trombone, 1x Tuba, and any tuned percussionists.
See you all on Tuesday!
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee
Update 03 July 2024
Dear all,
That’s a wrap! A fantastic opening night to the 20th Prescot Festival, with the Orchestra in excellent form and 230 people in attendance in Prescot Parish Church. We had many complements on the programme. We are very grateful for the continued support at these events from our extra players, it makes all the difference. Thanks also to those of you who arrived early to set out the church for the orchestra, and stayed behind to restore order at the end.
Don’t forget to let Guy know if you’re able to make the meal which is pencilled in for Tuesday 10th September at the Toby Carvery, Aigburth.
We plan to start rehearsals again on Tuesday 17th September. If there is a particular piece of music that you would like to play through, please let our librarians Alex or Paul know and we’ll do our best to acquire it. Please spread the word – there is always room for more strings, in particular Double Basses, but also 1 x Bassoon, French Horns, 1x Trombone, 1x Tuba and any tuned percussionists.
We hope you have a lovely summer break and a well earned rest.
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee
Update 9 June 2024
Dear all,
What a fantastic turn out for our Spring concert at All Hallows’ Church. We are very grateful for the continued support at these events from our extra players, it makes all the difference. A belated thankyou to those of you who arrived early to set out the church for the orchestra, helping out with the buffet, and for restoring order at the end.
There are just two rehearsals left before the Prescot Festival on Friday 21 June. As you can see there is a minor change to the programme from the May concert; we are not doing the Alice Mary Smith Andante for Clarinet and Orchestra. Please make every effort to attend the final two rehearsals before the opening night, or let Rob know if you are unable to make it. As always there will be a pre-concert rehearsal on the night.
Dates for the autumn term will be confirmed nearer the time.
See you at rehearsal!
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee
Update 14 April 2024
Dear all,
We hope you had a good Easter break and are well rested and ready to start rehearsals again. We start back this coming Tuesday (16th April). This means there will be 4 rehearsals before our Spring concert at All Hallows’ Church on Tuesday 21st May, as we don’t meet on 23rd April due to Passover. Dates for the remaining rehearsals are on our Facebook page and have been sent out on email by Guy as a reminder, as has a copy of the poster created by Aslan that people can print off at home to help spread the word, or email to friends.
Buffet – our contributions to the Buffet are by no means compulsory, but if you are able to contribute, either sign up at rehearsal or let Guy know what you are bringing.
There will be a pre-concert rehearsal at All Hallows as normal on concert day (6pm start if possible).
See you at rehearsal!
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee
Update 05 February 2024
Dear all,
A belated welcome back to the start of the winter term rehearsals! Hope you all enjoyed a well earned rest after the Christmas concert and are looking forward to working through some new music this term before the spring concert on 21 May and the Prescot festival on 21 June.
A reminder that there will be the usual two week break for the Easter holidays, in addition we also have a clash with the Passover festival this year. This means we won’t have our usual rehearsal space available at the end of April. The dates where we will not meet will be confirmed nearer the time.
We do have some of the music already confirmed for the May concert. These are as follows: The Old Hundredth by Vaughan Williams, Slavonic Dance No 2 by Dvorak, The Grand March from Aida by Verdi, and Pomp and Circumstance No 4 by Elgar.
Section leaders, please ensure there are enough copies of these pieces in your folders as we will be sourcing extra players for both concerts. In particular we are looking for double basses, 1 x bassoon, French Horns, Tuba and any tuned percussionists. If you know anyone who might be free for either or both concerts, please let Rob or Guy know.
As always, please let Rob know if you are unable to make a rehearsal session.
Rob, Laura and the SLO Committe
Update 24 December 2023
Dear all,
What a wonderful turn out for our Christmas Concert. Thank you to those of you who arrived early to set out the church for the orchestra, and for restoring order at the end. Thanks also to our extra players, we are very grateful for your continued support at these events.
Don’t forget our post-Christmas meal at the Toby Carvery on Aigburth Road, Liverpool on Tuesday 9th January. Guy has booked our table for 7.30, but those who are able to arrive earlier, can meet from 7pm onwards for a drink if you wish.
A reminder that we are not meeting until Tuesday 16th January 2024 for our first rehearsal of the New Year.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Rob, Laura, and the SLO committee
Update 5th November 2023
Dear all,
It is four weeks to our Christmas Concert at All Hallows’ Church. Many thanks to Guy for circulating the poster. Please do all you can to advertise our concert. Ticket sales are on the door, no need to book in advance. We will have a pre-concert rehearsal on the day. It would be a great help if as many people as possible can get to the church as close to 6pm as you can, in order to clear the altar and set up the seats for the orchestra. We will also need volunteers to assist with putting everything back after the concert.
Concert dress is the usual black and white for men (black jacket, white shirt with black bow tie, though festive bow ties are also welcome! and black trousers) and black for women. We usually bring Christmas decorations to put on stands and some accessories for us to wear to bring in the Christmas spirit.
Please could you confirm participation by letting Guy know your full name/instrument for the programme in good time. This will help us fill any gaps prior to the concert. Please also let Rob know if you are unable to make any rehearsals but are still aiming to be there on the night – this is useful when planning upcoming rehearsals.
Call for volunteers for the Buffet – we would be really grateful for extra people manning the Buffet at the end of the concert. As always, our contributions to the Buffet are by no means compulsory, but if you are able to contribute, please do sign up at rehearsal or let Guy know what you are bringing.
Section leaders – please could you ensure that there are enough copies of parts for your section, particularly for extra players who will be joining us on the night. We have some pieces confirmed already (mentioned in the poster) and should know the full repertoire this coming week.
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee.
Update 18th October 2023
Dear all,
Rehearsals are back in full swing and it has been great to see you all and so many new faces. Please spread the word – there is always room for more strings, in particular Double Basses, 1 x Bassoon, French Horns, 1x Trombone, 1x Tuba and any tuned percussionists.
It has been great to have your suggestions for music to work through this term. Alex has been successful in obtaining a wide range of music for us to work through even with the challenges of transposing parts!
We are already planning for the Christmas concert and All Hallows Church in Allerton has once again been booked as our venue for Tuesday 5th December 2023. More details on start time for rehearsal on the day and the full programme will be provided in due course.
Likely contenders for the Christmas programme are Schubert’s Rosamunde overture, alongside William Alwyn’s Suite of Scottish Dances. Please can section leaders ensure you have enough copies of these two pieces for your section folders.
If you are unable to make any rehearsal in the lead up to the concert, or are unable to make any of the proposed concert dates for this year, please could you let Rob know. For next year we have pencilled in Tuesday 21 May for our Spring concert and have been invited back to take part in the Prescot Festival again, this time to open the Festival on Friday 21 June 2024. Please mark the dates in your diary!
We meet weekly right upto the Christmas concert (we are not having a break this October half term).
Rob, Laura and the SLO Committee
Update 6th August 2023
Dear all,
We hope you are enjoying the summer break (despite the weather!) after our concert at Prescot Parish Church, which was a fitting end to the 10 day Prescot Arts Festival. Audience feedback was exceptionally good and our programme appreciated by all. Thanks from Rob especially for all your hard work in rehearsal and on the day, with some well prepared solos (you know who you are!).
Rehearsals will resume on Tuesday 19th September at the Synagogue. We don’t have any clashes with Jewish Festivals in the Autumn term this year. The provisional date for our Christmas concert (dependent on the availablility of All Hallows’ Church) is Tuesday 5th December 2023. Programme will be confirmed nearer the time.
Please spread the word – there is always room for more strings, in particular Double Basses, 1 x Bassoon, French Horns, 1x Trombone, 1x Tuba and any tuned percussionists.
Let’s hope for more than the odd day of sunshine during the next few weeks and look forward to seeing you in September!
Rob, Laura, and the SLO Committee
Update 8th March 2023
Dear all
Rehearsals are now in full swing and going well. Great to see you all, and a warm welcome to all our new members.
Dates for your diary:
There are 3 rehearsals left before we break for Easter, the last of these being Tuesday 28th March. We then break for two weeks so there will be NO rehearsal on the 4th or 11th April.
After Easter, we start back on Tuesday 18th April. This means there will be 4 rehearsals before our Spring concert at All Hallows’ Church on Tuesday 16th May. There will be a rehearsal at All Hallows as normal on concert day (6pm start if possible).
Following the concert at All Hallows’, we have a short break and do not meet for rehearsals on 23rd or 30th May.
We have managed to secure the Synagogue for some extra rehearsals in readiness for the Prescot Festival concert in June. Our summer term will be slightly extended this year and we will be rehearsing on 6th, 13th and 20th June, with a rehearsal in the afternoon (3pm start if possible) at Prescot Parish Church (concert venue) on Sunday 25th June.
Please let Rob know if you are unable to make either the May or the June concerts if you haven’t done so already, so that we can see where we need to fill any vacancies. All instruments are welcome though we are looking in particular for horns, tuba, trombone and all strings, especially double bass.
Rob, Laura, and the SLO committee
Update 1st January 2023
Dear all, firstly Happy New Year! We trust this update finds you all in good health. A belated thank you for another successful Christmas concert, which was enjoyed by all who attended, the buffet certainly went down well!
Just a reminder that we are not meeting for rehearsal until 17th January, but there is a social get together planned for 10th January at our usual venue, the Toby Carvery on Aigburth Road, Aigburth, L19 9DN. Please do ask if you haven’t been before but would like to join us, as there is space to add more in.
Let Guy know if you are planning to attend if you haven’t already. They have asked for a £5 deposit per person in advance this time to secure the booking, so we would be grateful if anyone having to cancel their place due to illness or other unforeseen events could let us know in good time, as the deposit may not be refundable.
Looking forward to rehearsing more new pieces this term. As always, new members are welcomed, string players in general, bassoon, trombones x2, tuba and French horns (2-4).
Rob, Laura, and the SLO committee
Update Sunday 13 November 2022
Dear all, we had a welcome return to our social get-togethers last month at the Toby Carvery Aigburth. It was lovely to see so many of you there. Do take a look at the photos on the Facebook page if you haven’t seen them already.
Our Christmas concert is fast approaching with just three rehearsals left. Please let Rob know if you’re unable to make any of the remaining rehearsals. The poster above has now been circulated by Guy – if you haven’t received a copy, let us know at rehearsal and we can check that we have up to date contact details for you.
Please spread the word about our concert – we look forward to welcoming everyone to All Hallows’ Church ready to get into the festive spirit and join in with some well known carols!
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee
Update Thursday 8 September 2022:
Orchestra get-together planned for Tuesday 4 October 2022.
Dear all, hopefully you have seen the email from Guy regarding the proposed get-together at our usual venue, the Toby Carvery Aigburth Road, Aigburth, L19 9DN. For those of you who haven’t been before, it is just by the Cricket Club. Menus can be found on their website here.
Those of you who can make it, please could you let Steph know by the 2nd rehearsal back (20th September) to allow us to give the Toby advance notice. Either via email or when back at rehearsal is fine to put your name down for a place.
Look forward to seeing you all next Tuesday, 13th September for a 7.30pm start.
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee.
Update Monday 22 August 2022:
Autumn term rehearsals:
Dear all, we hope you are continuing to stay safe and well and have enjoyed a well-earned rest over the summer break.
The rehearsal schedule for the autumn term has been confirmed as follows:
A slightly earlier than normal start on 13/09/22, with a second rehearsal on 20/09/22. There is then a temporary hiatus with NO Rehearsal on the following two Tuesdays (27/09/22 and 4/10/22) due to Jewish festivals.
We will return to consecutive rehearsals each Tuesday from 11 October 2022 (including the October half term). Our last rehearsal of the autumn term will be Tuesday 29 November 2022, with our Christmas Concert on Tuesday 6 December 2022.
The Venue and start/finish times for the Christmas concert will be confirmed as soon as we are able.
Please spread the word among all regular and past members of the dates for rehearsals. New members are always welcome, in particular, all string players in general (especially double bass), bassoon, trombones (x2), tuba, and French horns (2-4).
Look forward to seeing you all in September!
Rob, Laura, and the SLO committee.
Rehearsal Venue: Liverpool Reform Synagogue, 28 Church Road North, Wavertree, L15 6TF
Autumn term: 13/09/22 & 20/09/22 then break. Resume on 11/10/22 to 29/11/22.
Winter term: Dates tbc
Spring term: Dates tbc
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Update 5 August 2022
Dear all
After another successful concert, and a great end to the spring term playing through Malcolm Arnold‘s Symphony No. 5, amongst other pieces, we hope you’re all having a well-earned rest this summer!
Weather permitting, an SLO meet up in Greenbank Park L18 1HQ is planned for Saturday 13th August from 2pm onwards, as some of us did last year. We suggest that people meet near the children’s play area. You might want to bring something to sit on (blanket or chair) and a drink/snack, or food/drink can be purchased from the café. We’ll keep an eye on the forecast of course and let you know ahead of time if anything changes. If anyone needs directions please ask.
See you there!
Rob, Laura and the SLO committee